Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

(Cross-posted at Clintonistas for Obama and DailyKos)

This diary is not a guilt trip, though some will perceive it as such. This is just a quick reminder, and it serves to demonstrate why this Clinton supporter will be voting for Barack Obama in November. There are numerous reasons, but these are the ones which are on my mind today:

I'm voting for Obama in memory of over 4000 of our young men and women who have died in uniform.

And I'm not just voting for US troops.

I'm voting for Obama for the Iraqis who carry coffins and pictures of their fallen through the streets.

My vote for Obama is a vote against violence.

My vote for Obama is a vote against suffering.

My vote for Obama is a vote against death.

 

Field of crosses: Each cross represents 6 dead Iraqis

I'm voting for Obama for their fallen sons, daughters and husbands. . .

. . .and for ours.

As our soldiers die, the unrepentant chimp who fancies himself a king tap dances for reporters. Nothing could stop me from opposing the Party which chose him.

I will not stand idly by while a man who jokes about war seeks the White House.

I forgave Hillary Clinton and John Edwards for their AUMF votes, but part of me is happy to see John McCain facing a young man who spoke out against the war from the very beginning. It will create sharper contrast, and I will be happy to put a man with that sort of wisdom, judgment, and foresight into office. The Iraq war is just one reason to vote for him, but it's been weighing heavily on my mind in recent weeks, as fall approaches. I'm voting for Barack Obama for one of my best friends - a woman I've known since I was 9 and she was 10 years old - and for her brother, who won't be with us at her wedding in September, because George W. Bush sent him to die. I'm voting for the Democratic nominee, even though he wasn't my first choice, to end a failed war - one which "should never have been authorized, and should never have been waged."

Tags: 2008 Presidential election, Barack Obama, Iraq Casualties, Iraq War, John McCain (all tags)

Comments

70 Comments

1/20/09:

The end of an error.

by sricki 2008-06-29 11:23AM | 0 recs
How very true...

And may I add that 01/20/09 will also be the beginning of a new era, hopefully one when all the wrongs of the past 8 years will finally be made right again.

by atdleft 2008-06-29 11:36AM | 0 recs
Re: How very true...

As Hillary has pointed out many times, think about all the progress we would have made over the decades if we had had Democratic presidents.  What different world this would be if we were coming to the end of President Gore's second term.

by psychodrew 2008-06-29 03:26PM | 0 recs
Re: 1/20/09:

if this is your true passion and you are really sincere in it. Let's then hope an end to democrats caving in on war funding.

'we gave a black check this time for 1 year so obama can have 6 months of breathing room when he is president'- cited leaders in congress.

6 months

and another 600 deaths and 3000 wounded___ as a handicap.

by aliveandkickin 2008-06-29 11:48AM | 0 recs
"Black Check" = Freudian slip. n/t

by sricki 2008-06-29 11:58AM | 0 recs
no kidding --

'n' and 'c' are not exactly next to eachother.

by semiquaver 2008-06-29 12:04PM | 0 recs
Re: no kidding --

ahh yes ofcourse... the message related was akin to the KKK mission statement. I forget...

by aliveandkickin 2008-06-29 12:26PM | 0 recs
No kidding either

HR'd for defacing this serious diary with your inane graffiti.

by duende 2008-06-29 01:15PM | 0 recs
Hey, in case you missed

aliveandkickin's godawful troll diary last night, we caught him with at least four handles.

by sricki 2008-06-29 01:31PM | 0 recs
Heart you, sricki

Why am I not surprised? What a tiresome attention seeking asshole. But it's also an indictment of the admins that he can get away with it.

Another great diary Sricki. I'm going to miss all this troll squishing over the next week or so, but look forward to updates on my return.

by duende 2008-06-29 02:41PM | 0 recs
Same, Brit.

Don't know where you're going, but have fun and be careful!

by sricki 2008-06-29 02:54PM | 0 recs
Re: Hey, in case you missed

What was that, anyway?  Evangelism at gunpoint?  with fundraisers like that, who needs bank robbers?

by semiquaver 2008-06-29 05:00PM | 0 recs
It was one of the weirdest

things I've ever seen a troll do. Truly bizarre.

by sricki 2008-06-29 07:01PM | 0 recs
For what it's worth

Did you notice that a bunch of aliveandkickin's diaries disappeared today - including that one?  Only one diary per day appears now for the last week.

Admins enforcing?  Or aliveandkickin reeling it in because he realizes his bacon is on the fire?  

by spunkmeyer 2008-06-29 07:20PM | 0 recs
No, I hadn't checked.

Did someone email the admins about him? He really offended me last night, and that's pretty hard to do. That "Donate or get off the internet" bullsh*t pissed me off in a big way. I'm a starving college student, and I already give more money than I can reasonably justify to candidates and causes. That's a really GOP mindset, too -- telling people who don't have $5 to donate or GTFO.

by sricki 2008-06-29 07:56PM | 0 recs
Re: No, I hadn't checked.

Re: the diaries, I only noticed it because I clicked on your link to it, and it didn't appear.  But most of the others are still there.  It's like some of them have been selectively weeded out.  Weird.  I assume he's trying to clean up his act in case the admins are watching, or something.

Re: your financial status, I hear you.  I've been giving to Dem candidates for about a while now, but I was pretty far along in my career before I considered it a responsible use of my money.  Participating in the process doesn't require cash donations.  At its very basic level, your vote and your engagement are the only things that are needed.

What a dingbat that guy is.  He really does live for the attention.  His posting clearly has nothing to do with political convictions and everything to do with enticing people to play with him.

I can't even imagine what the scene must look like on his side of the computer...

by spunkmeyer 2008-06-29 08:04PM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

There's nothing I could possibly add.  

Thanks for  an achingly poignant reminder.

by candidate D 2008-06-29 11:25AM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

Sricki Thank you so much for this diary. I really love this one.

by Politicalslave 2008-06-29 02:46PM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

Beautiful diary. Rec'd

by MS01 Indie 2008-06-29 11:27AM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

I agree - the war is one of the biggest issues for me this election year as well.  I will say that if Obama is elected and he doesn't handle the Iraq situation properly and it continues to be a clusterf*&k I will do everything humanly possible to make sure he isn't elected to a second term.  

by JustJennifer 2008-06-29 11:29AM | 0 recs
Fair enough. n/t

by sricki 2008-06-29 11:39AM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

I can't find a source, but a few days ago Obama was asked: paraphrasing,

"What criteria will your first term need to meet to be considered a success?"

And he said outright, in no uncertain terms, that if he does not have us out of Iraq and if he has not implemented universal healthcare, his first term will have been a failure.  Now I have no doubt that he will manage those things, but you could never pin McCain down on something as definitive as that, or for that matter, any Republican.  Politicians hate saying 'our project must do x or else it has failed.'  If they get stuck saying things like that, they can't constantly parrot phrases like 'the surge is working'.

by semiquaver 2008-06-29 12:21PM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

Yes I was going to mention the same quote. Obama will start removing once he moves into the White House.

by Politicalslave 2008-06-29 03:07PM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

Accidentally trolled you, and now the only way out is to mojo your comment.

I'm actually neutral about it: but Obama showed the right judgment in 2003 and I trust he will do the same in 2009

by duende 2008-06-29 01:18PM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

I will join you.I expect and demand President Obama to end this war which by the way he said he would do in the Rolling Stone interview.

by Politicalslave 2008-06-29 03:20PM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

You post this over at kos too?

Great diary.

by spacemanspiff 2008-06-29 11:34AM | 0 recs
You think I should?

I comment over there, but I've never posted a diary.

by sricki 2008-06-29 11:37AM | 0 recs
You should

It's a great diary.

by MILiberal 2008-06-29 12:10PM | 0 recs
Thanks.

Done. n/t

by sricki 2008-06-29 12:17PM | 0 recs
Re: Thanks.

I wish you hadn't posted this at DailyKos. The kinds of things they promoted during the primary season were horrible in the extreme, whether it was the scurrilous claim about video manipulation of Obama's face, the fake Mickey Kantor video, or repeated accusations that Hillary Clinton was a racist and the worst kind of person. That site was the epitome of everything noxious and damaging during the primaries.

No, it wasn't everyone there, and it may have changed now. But they did more to slime and slander Hillary Clinton than anyone else on the left, and I for one will have nothing to do with them ever again.

Feel free to criticize or downrate me, but that's my position and I'm not budging.

by OrangeFur 2008-06-29 09:12PM | 0 recs
No, it's a valid position.

And I agree, they were terrible to Hillary. But I never fully left, either, because there were more issue-based diaries there. I just steered clear of candidate diaries during the primaries.

It IS better there now, but still not great. Obama supporters are calling each other out more, and there's less anti-Hillary rhetoric. I suspect things will improve over time.

But I understand why a lot of people don't want to go back -- I certainly can't criticize or downrate anyone for feeling that way.

by sricki 2008-06-29 09:18PM | 0 recs
Re: Thanks.

Out of curiosity, why on earth would you be against him posting this diary on Dailykos? Your personal opinions about DK and the substance of this diary aren't even remotely related.

by USArmyParatrooper 2008-06-29 10:37PM | 0 recs
Re: Thanks.

First, if I remember correctly, sricki is a woman.

Second, I found the behavior at DKos during the primary to be repugnant. Given the great respect I have for sricki's writing, I don't believe they now deserve the legitimacy that her diary gives them.

Finally, thank you for your service to this country.

by OrangeFur 2008-06-29 11:44PM | 0 recs
Re: Thanks.

Man... woman... I just see letters in a screen name.

I think that's pretty arrogant to say they "don't deserve" her writing. I'm a regular poster on both sites, and I have to say, Dailykos kills MyDD when it comes to substantive issues diaries. They have way less soap opera drama as well and far fewer trolls. Add all that to the fact that they have ten times (maybe not literally) the membership and activity... and I have to say, Dailykos does not depend on her or any one person to give them legitimacy.

On a happier note I appreciate your kind words about my service. :o)

by USArmyParatrooper 2008-06-30 12:03AM | 0 recs
sricki,

I remember how fiercely you fought for Senator Clinton.  There's something very inspiring in how passionate you have become in your advocacy of  Barack Obama.

Thank you, for being a true democrat -- for standing up for what Hillary's candidacy was all about -- for not letting your justifiable anger at the worst of the Obama supporters get in the way of what really matters.

It means a lot.

by semiquaver 2008-06-29 11:44AM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

This is not a very appealing diary .

You are great Sricki and we have fought a lot of these battles together but I just don't fancy these type of diaries and its insinuations.

Aside from the fact that I have the sense you would be dissapointed at the end of the day

by lori 2008-06-29 11:44AM | 0 recs
That's okay, lori.

I figured not everyone would be too pleased about it.

by sricki 2008-06-29 12:00PM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

I just don't fancy these type of diaries and its insinuations.

Yes, insinuating that much greater things are at steak that inner squabbling... I find that reprehensible.

by USArmyParatrooper 2008-06-29 01:41PM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama
That's right Sricki only has 35 recomendations on
this one and counting. Last time it was 86. very "disappointing" Sricki
by Politicalslave 2008-06-29 02:59PM | 0 recs
Ah, now, be nice to lori, PS.

She and I disagree quite frequently (especially for two people who supported the same candidate), but she's cool. ;)

by sricki 2008-06-29 03:03PM | 0 recs
Re: Ah, now, be nice to lori, PS.

Humble and Fair. I'm trolling you Sricki. Ha Ha

by Politicalslave 2008-06-29 03:10PM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

It's a nice selection of photos with simple and elegant commentary. I'm not normally moved by photo arrays, but I thought yours was done very well.

by Mobar 2008-06-29 11:45AM | 0 recs
SUPREME COURT

That is one of the BIGGEST reasons why I am voting for Obama.

by puma 2008-06-29 11:45AM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

This is not a very appealing diary .

I agree....I, for one, have never found war appealing.

Great diary, sricki.

Tipped, Rec'd and reread.

by Kysen 2008-06-29 11:49AM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

Don't ya just hate it when ya mean to place your comment as a reply to another....yet wind up placing it as a reply to the diary?

C'est la vie

;)

by Kysen 2008-06-29 11:51AM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

happens to most folks , no big deal

by lori 2008-06-29 11:55AM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

I'm interested to see if Obama's position on Iraq changes as circumstances change. His argument is that the surge has not worked because Iraq's political leaders have made no progress resolving their differences. If we do see political progress does that change his 16 month withdrawal timetable? Obama has a pretty fine ear for political positioning, I can imagine a situation where his Iraq position becomes less distinguishable from John McCain's.

by souvarine 2008-06-29 11:50AM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama
wow. some pretty powerful stuff. Its really wierd to think that so many young people have to carry out this war; people that i know. people that i grew up with. its like I could be one of them.


[the crying pictures are the worst. they make me so sad.]
by alyssa chaos 2008-06-29 12:08PM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million

The deaths of our soldiers hurt me.  I've got a buddy over there right now, actually.

The deaths of those Iraqis....we aren't coming to grips with what we've done.  Too many of my countrymen just don't care about the death and destruction we've brought to them.

by Reaper0Bot0 2008-06-29 01:02PM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

Great diary by a great Clinton supporter. Thank you for thinking about the Iraqi victims.

by french imp 2008-06-29 01:26PM | 0 recs
So much

is being said in this diary with so few words.

Well done.

by kevin22262 2008-06-29 01:36PM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

great, diary. How quickly we have lost sight of all these images and reminders of the folly McCain wants to win. Jeeze. He is out of his mind.

by linfar 2008-06-29 01:37PM | 0 recs
Tipped and recced.

Sricki, you are fast becoming one of my favorite posters around here.

by spunkmeyer 2008-06-29 01:47PM | 0 recs
Thanks, same to you.

By the way, did you know rankles thinks you're my sockpuppet? Heh. I'm here for the lulz.

by sricki 2008-06-29 01:51PM | 0 recs
Classic!
Failing at logic
aliveandkickin does it
Why not Rankles too?
by spunkmeyer 2008-06-29 02:04PM | 0 recs
Great diary! Rec'd. n't

by psychodrew 2008-06-29 03:24PM | 0 recs
Great diary, rec'd

by SocialDem 2008-06-29 05:32PM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

This a great diary. Rec'd. PUMA folks hopefully will realize the greater good of the country and the World lies in the election of Obama and McCain defeat.

I'm also waiting to see that the ABC "Anybody But Clinton" crowd also get the fact that the primary is over, the primary wars are over. Most of us are supporting Obama. If they want to carry on their little war, please seek out the PUMA folks..

by louisprandtl 2008-06-29 06:42PM | 0 recs
That last picture.

The tears of the young soldiers made me think 'How many tours of duty, how many fallen comrades before they will no longer weep at death?'  The tragedy is not just those who die but those who live with death day after day, month after month, year after year...what are we doing to these young people?  And for what?

Good diary sricki.

by GFORD 2008-06-29 11:49PM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

by GFORD 2008-06-29 11:49PM | 0 recs
Oops, double post.

by GFORD 2008-06-29 11:50PM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

US soldiers are nothing but GI Joe dolls to this batch of Republicans, cowards who live out their phony fantasies of being "real men" via other people while they sit in their air conditioned offices making sleazy deals with oil companies.

Iraqis are even less than GI Joe dolls to them.  They're an obstacle to those oil fields.

by Juno 2008-06-30 03:55AM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

Excellent Diary, Recced, tipped and appreciated.

by Terminus 2008-06-30 05:40AM | 0 recs
Re: Over 1.2 Million Reasons To Vote For Obama

Excellent diary sricki.

by Hollede 2008-06-30 06:12AM | 0 recs
great diary, thanks

by catchaz 2008-06-30 10:44AM | 0 recs
I will only vote for Obama if he puts HRC

on the ticket.

by handsomegent 2008-06-30 01:43PM | 0 recs
Very nicely done

Still keeping a low profile but the deduction done by you last night was stellar.

Oh and the diary is awesome too.

Kudos.

by Sanguine Giant 2008-06-30 02:16PM | 0 recs
Hey, sucks you're having to lay low.

You'll have to tell me what happened someday, whenever all is clear. Hope everything's okay at the moment.

Yeah, I had fun nailing that troll. Good times, good times. Wish you, ragekage, and brit had been there, though.

by sricki 2008-06-30 02:59PM | 0 recs
It might be a few years

before I can talk freely about it, life is fine just really frakking busy, it is a little soul sucking to learn all sorts of new procedures but it is mildly interesting too.

BTW (off topic as i don't have the time to write a proper diary on this as I am kind of busy now):  The Chameleon is taking some heat and the funny man should start to get some traction on him.  Then again if the funny man doesn't get traction on someone who has been living in a basement and not paying rent then the funny man doesn't deserve to be a US Senator.

by Sanguine Giant 2008-07-01 12:34PM | 0 recs
Wow, a few years...

Well, whatever happened, I'm just glad you're okay!

by sricki 2008-07-02 10:27AM | 0 recs

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